Paint features for interesting techniques
Acrylic paint is extremely versatile and it can be applied in numerous ways and using countless techniques. It’s water-soluble, has hardly any smell. It consists of pigment particles dispersed in an acrylic polymer emulsion. When it dries, it becomes hard and changes color. Paints which contain more fillers and binders, but less pigments, become darker. However, properties of this paint make it possible to use many layers and it could be used as a glue. All these features are perfect for creating very textured art, sometimes, it can be described even as sculpted.
Textured art
I created the first textured paintings around 2007. Since then, there have been so many from very large 6 feet by 4 feet to small ones, just 12 x 10 in. They sometimes sold very swiftly. I do not have any pictures of some. I didn’t try to showcase very textured paintings on my website, too, because pictures never looked right. As you could imagine: the highest areas of textured surface capture light more and camera creates a total disbalance of colors and contrast, therefore, these pictures are always off. In reality, however, they are extremely attractive and impressive works of art.
Vintage frames for impressive art
I went through my inventory recently since I have more time before live art classes resume. I added a new protective layer, so they are as bright and neat as brand new, not to mention removing some dust from corners and frames. The vintage frames which will be visible in some pictures are really old, but they make any art look like real art. I didn’t restore them to the extent they’d lose the feel of being old. The imperfections help them look more authentic.
Distinctive creative periods
As I go through all my collections and create new products for sale pages, I cannot help but notice how each creative period is distinct with the use of specific color palette or subject. I’ve had the warm, earthy color period, the many shades of grey painting chapter, vivid blue and green landscape phase, as well as passion period for white, pink and red floral art, and then there are series of still life, birches and snow scenes. Reflecting on creative path from a distance of almost 20 recent years clearly reveals how I liked or disliked some colors and subjects over time.
Welcoming change
I wouldn’t say that paintings from 2010 are better than the ones from 2015, or the recent ones are the best. They are different, and each period of my creative journey emphases the dominant vision of that particular time span. We as humans change, and imagine the boredom if we as artists wouldn’t step off the beaten path! In fact, the greater the challenge, the more I love my new creations whether that refers to techniques, materials, subject or color palette. The pictures show art created around 2008 and up to 2015.
Time-consuming, yet, gorgeous
I used to paint everything as pairs of the same subject, quite frequently. I still continue that way, not with every single artwork, but there are many “twins” in my collections. The nicest feature is they work as series right away and look extraordinary great on the wall. Textured paintings are usually abstract by nature. While I am creating the texture layer, there is no outline, color or value. These are added later with layers of paint. Colors of textured art change depending on light and its placement. Photos capture some moments in time in a light which was present, and it might be that these images are able to convey the context and thought within the actual painting.
I hope this post inspires you to paint and create, as well as there might be somebody who loves the current featured paintings. I’d like to mention, that this is the first time images of these particular paintings are published. I will add them to art deals page soon, as well:
All other acrylic paintings can be seen here:
Shop original acrylic paintings
Thanks for reading!
awesome creativity….
Thanks very much!
I love the textured summer blooms Inese! Gorgeous indeed! And the Old Tree is so beautiful too. Your paintings are always richly woven and reflect your creative vision and heart. I notice the same about my style of creativity shifting over time in reflection to things shifting in my life as well. Thank you for sharing your creativity and vision of beauty with the world. It’s so needed.
Thank you very much Tania Marie!
I decided to finally post these pictures even though colors were not perfect.
Sure thing, we need to change together with everything else.
I appreciate your nice comment! I love that people appreciate art.
The texture adds so much interest, almost like the subject is coming out from the canvas. Very nice! (as always)
Thanks very much!
I think that’s why I like the texture paintings very much because I normally do not prefer abstracts. It really looks and feels like the image is coming out of canvas. In early childhood when I was drawing, I always hoped I could make the subject feel like it’s touchable. Well, some 50 years later I got to it.
It is also an interesting process since it’s not clear until at least 3-4 layers how it will come out.
Beautiful paintings Inese! Really love the texture 💖
Thank you very much!
I never posted them anywhere because it always felt the photos didn’t do any justice to this type of art. I can see I was wrong, and photos still alow seeing the special features of such art.
Wow! That’s a really lovely effect.. it almost brings them alive on the canvas, like nature breaking free.
Thank you very much Sheri!
I think that’s what attracted me to this style, the ability to make my subject so visible and touchable that it literally jumps out. Like I said, I started to create them around 2007 or 2008. They sort of didn’t get much attention back then. I put them away and together with the more scent ones from 2010, they make a nice set.
I have added numerous textured paintings since then, every years at least a few. It involves extra steps which are the priming of surface and then creating the texture layer before any paint application.
Have a good day! I hope your week is going nicely!
It’s my pleasure!
I really think this technique pairs well with nature, it gives so much depth to the painting, you’re beautiful flowers look like the could grow right off the canvas.
There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes for artists(and many others) that people will never understand how much you put into your pieces. But it’s all worth it in the end..
Thank you and you too! Be well!
It really suits nature subjects, especially, grasses, leaves, trees, blooms not so much, it’s simply difficult to create them with modeling medium as it dries fast and correcting the shape is practically impossible.
Art can take a long time not only to create, but also to figure out what exactly I want to do.
Thanks very much! Have a good day!
I can’t say from experience but.. It looks well worth the extra work and difficulty.
Hands down-the hardest part is usually figuring out what you want your piece to look like. The subject, the colors.. there’s so much that goes into just the idea of art.
Again, I love that art challenges people, it’s constantly evolving.
Thank you, we’ve had some wonderful summer rain this week! I hope things are treating you well up there!
Extra work often results in something good if we are willing to take this one more step.
With abstracted works, I have the idea, but I never know how it will exactly come out. Therefore, the many layers, easily, some 20. I keep going until the painting meets my expectations for it.
Acrylic is a flat medium by its nature, therefore, the more layers, the better it looks. Unfortunately, no photography can capture the almost invisible shifts in shades and colors.
We had small bit of rain, we definitely need more.
All the best Sheri!
Too bad that’s not the popular opinion. No many are interested in going out of there way, when you can get similar results for less.
Wow, that’s incredible, it’s also probably why your paintings turn out so emotive.. years of dedicated work.
And it makes sense, there are some things the internet and technology just can’t recreate.
And careful what you wish for when it comes to weather lately! Have a great weekend!
I think I simply love what I do, and although, while financials are painful because for original art sales one needs to be a celebrity or have VIP friends, influencers, etc., but there is the fulfilling aspect with creation of always achieving something more.
My garden is so abnormally dry, just watering doesn’t help it. Impatiently waiting for at least some rain. The previous one was brief and it hardly soaked the surface.
Grass is completely dry and quite yellow, and it’s not even July yet when we get the abnormally hot weather.
We start to reopen today. 1st step.
Stay safe and well!
From just looking at your art, it’s obvious that you love it, you wouldn’t get such stunning results otherwise. You should be very proud of what you do.. every painting created is wholly unique and one of a kind.
We were blessed with some summer showers today, but it never seems like enough, the ground is already parched and they’re calling for record high temperatures this year. It might just be a hot and dry season for everyone.
Congratulations! I’m so happy for you! Now you can all start working towards more freedom and hopefully one more step in the direction of recovering from all this.
Thank you! You too and Enjoy!
Certainly, I’m happy with most of my paintings, or I just keep working until I am satisfied with what’s there.
We desperately need rain. I was just outside and the watering doesn’t help. Grass is yellow, plants are not in a good shape. With rain, when the moisture falls from the sky, it’s cloudy and no direct heat is coming upon plants. With watering, the weather is pure sun and the water just evaporates on touch, as well as make plants feel uncomfortable because of the temperature differences. Maybe on Monday, but we had such forecasts before and nothing happened.
I came back indoors, there’s no point baking in that heat, feeling simply tired, exhausted almost. Lots of work, little gets done because of the heat. And then again, it’s way better than in the winter. Universe cannot please the spoiled.
Have a good weekend!
I’ve always loved watching painters work, it’s such an amazing thing to see how you get from an empty white canvas to these gorgeous creations.
We’re fortunate. We have had some good rain and it was much needed. Our normal days are reaching mid-nineties already and the humidity makes it difficult on breathing. It’s not just the plants that are suffering, we have a large dog, and the weather has been pretty hard on him. I worry for a lot of peoples animals this summer. But we’ll see.. Mother Nature is capricious and we are all subject to her moods.
I hope you see some good rain soon!
I love especially that: to create something from nothing.
In case of acrylics, it’s actually canvas with some layer of ground color. In order to get colors shine later, I always start on dark or medium dark color canvas. Except in classes sometimes, there’s no time always for that preparation step. Acrylic is such paint when you get way better results painting on at least primed canvas. I suppose, people get the wrong idea from watching YouTube videos where somebody starts on white canvas. Some of these demos are truly pathetic.
However, I absolutely get your idea where white is just empty and blank. A space of artistic freedom where you go ahead and place whatever moves you.
I suppose 90-s is high. I am used to Celsius, so I’m not sure how high that is. In Europe, we only had Celsius degrees, just like only meters, kilometers and centimeters. All foot and inch conversions are very tough for me. I still go mentally with that: degrees in Celsius and measurements by decimal system, as well especially weights. I will never get pounds or whatever else there is right. If I really need, I check with Google.
Hoping for rain for sure, it looks like we might get some overnight or tomorrow.
Take care! Dogs have hard times in hot weather, but they usually manage with proper hydration and shadowed shelter.
I think it’s wonderful what you can do when you’re passionate about something. The things you can create when you put your mind(and heart) into it. One young woman on Tiktok paints her dreams, can you imagine? Dreams made real..
My husband says 94 degrees is roughly 34Celsius. Either way, it’s miserably hot.
And I don’t think very many people realize just how complicated having two different measuring systems can make things, it can be a serious pain in the butt.
Good luck with the rain!
And thank you! We’re doing what we can for him but.. it’s always hard when it effects our furry family members.
I haven’t seen anything on Tiktok since I don’t have that app, not really interested, too. I do limit time watching what somebody else does in order to do more. Well, it comes to the point that our time cannot be stretched endlessly and most important things take priority.
Painting dreams is fine. I do love the challenge to create something out of a very routine and very well-known things, so that get somebody thinking how they never noticed that. Lots of people want to alter reality, I want to make it adorable, but the same old and real one. I am a big supporter of making the human mind more capable than the AI, that is in all regards.
Creation involves passion, that’s for sure, however, the daily projects and their preparation mean simply lots of work. I can say that I do not love all steps equally. The best part is starting a painting, and the other one, – adding the finishing touch. The rest can be just tiring and physically difficult medium or paint application. In our times, everything involves the enhanced and elevated aspect, yet, many things are just work. I wrote years back how an interviewer asks a famous artist how he paints, sort of sarcastic review of a painting process. Here is the link, it’s from old posts (see no likes? I couldn’t transfer likes): https://inesepogagallery.com/2013/04/22/should-there-always-be-a-story-behind-the-painting/
34 Celsius is hot. We have moderate temperature, a few drops of rain, not enough by any measure.
Thanks! Have a good week!
Tiktok is good because it allows artists to show more of their process and the viewers the opportunity to become fascinated by what you do. I’m not usually a fan of social media but it has done wonderful things for the art world.
And I guess painting a dream would be less pressure, with no rules to tell you what something already is. With reality you know what to expect and are more critical because you have an idea of what it’s supposed to look like.
And I don’t know all the work required with painting, I can imagine there’s quite a lot, but I do agree with the saying “Anything in life worth having, is worth working for.”
(Getting hotter every day.) Hopefully of this rain will start heading your way, sounds like you need it. You too! Take care!
I have no doubt Tiktok is helpful for artists who have videos and well-done videos. Unfortunately, I don’t have such. I never managed the video editing at a decent level because of eyesight, or rather not that great eyesight. I should be using glasses, but I do not when I paint, and especially, when I draw. I believe they distort proportions, have seen that happening. Lots of things could be helpful. I wish I could have a team who can help with the numerous tasks of promoting art, just like some of my artist friends do: filming crew, video editors, social media account managers, etc. It has come to the point where one person cannot manage all accounts, the daily duties and still have time to create. I’m not in condition to hire anybody for help at the moment, but maybe in the future I can do that based on some barter or in exchange for something. Time will show.
My sister’s grandson was painting wind when he was just 3 years old, it came out good. There are some art aspects for which one needs to be young, fresh and just starting out. North America has mainly 3 favorites: abstracts and conceptual no-skill paintings, and photorealistic art. Unfortunately, I do not do any of these for many reasons I have mentioned in my articles. Paintings dreams suits well the new directions in art, and certainly, that’s already an inhabited area.
Pursuing any goal which we are passionate about is worth doing. In many cases, that will result in increase in income, too. As you know, my story is unusual, and starting out from zero past 50 without knowing anything about Canadian and the USA art market was kind of tough. Still trying to find my way.
We have very beautiful day after a decent rainfall yesterday.
It’s a shame about your eyesight but, can I just say, that if you’re painting like that with trouble with your vision.. wow. After seeing your finished pieces and all the detail(from here).. that’s so impressive.
And yes. It’s ridiculous how much work maintaining a social media presence is. It’s like you’ve said, you need an entire team to make things work, or even keep up.. and even then you’re at a disadvantage. Being an artists, what’s popular, the pandemic and resulting lockdown.
It’s strange how the convenience of technology for so many actually makes it more difficult for others.
In most cases.. pursuing passion rarely ends in financial security, and I don’t know many who can afford to live on their dreams but I feel that some joy in what you do should be present for any kind of happiness in life.
And I get the feeling you don’t give up very easily.. with the lockdown relaxing and things attempting to return to some new kind of ‘normal’, things are going to be different. Hopefully this newer world will be for the creative types.
So glad to hear you got some rain! Have a great week!
Having good eyesight is a huge privilege. I was very much having that until I had to type like 100 pages of medical texts and clinical trial reviews in 3-4 days. That’s when my eyes went worse after staring at screen for up to 14 hours a day. Sometimes, all night until I passed out at my computer. I do check the final painting with glasses to adjust some edges and so, but other than that ability to place paint or line where it belongs simply comes from practice. When I draw, I do not look at my drawing paper, I look mostly at the subject. I’m not publishing or painting portraits recently, but I made my living through university with drawing large portraits. I mention frequently how I don’t use eraser. Not using eraser helps focusing the line where it needs to be. It’s also an internal vision, as well as well-adjusted eye-hand coordination. Looking at lines somebody is drawing, I can certainly give them a report of their health issues, mental problems, character and sometimes also warn them about what no to do in the future. My grandmother from dad’s side was a healer, she could do numerous things. I was too young to learn everything, but I still learned a lot. One of these things is diagnosing health problems, that’s why I became very popular among multilingual medical translators and writers in my respective 4 language pairs.
As you can see, everything is connected, and in my case, it leads to ability to draw anything, I can make it lifelike if I want to also. That’s why I choose no to paint abstracts too much. Except, I really love the textures.
The fact that I need to become better in video editing and also must acquire way better equipment is an obstacle right now. I still publish totally unedited videos here and there, but, apparently, they don’t reach the quality requirements of nowadays social media platforms.
Summer is great! Thank you very much for your comment!
Wow. You say this all off-hand, like being able to do what you do isn’t completely remarkable, as if anyone could do it if they tried.. but some things are wholly unique to a person. Call it gift from God or the universe, but to be able to draw/paint without good eyesight or erasing anything.. that is mind-blowing.
I take it you’re no longer in the medical field? I’ve met a fair amount of doctors who could benefit from such ‘sensitivity’ to their patients.
I fully believe everything happens for a reason, that we are who we’re meant to be in this moment, and that all of it is(as you say) connected. The universe doesn’t make mistakes.
Video equipment is just so expensive these days.. and require quite a bit of work and know-how to use. It just seems like so much for very little return. It’s a shame that it’s even necessary, but I get it, half the battle is for exposure. Good luck!
Have a wonderful Father’s day weekend!
Well, I started drawing very early since that was what I could do, though, I didn’t have drawing paper, eraser and I used just a basic school type of pencil and wrapping paper. We are talking begin of the 60-s in the Soviet Union where Latvia was at that time. We didn’t have nursery schools, preschools, and I was going with mom to greenhouses here and there or stayed alone at home watching my even younger sister. I was 5 at that time and could handle many things already.
We didn’t have TV, not to mention smart phones or internet. The person grew up on their own pretty much because work for parents was 6 days a week, long hours plus household, garden and some farm animals, chickens, that type of thing. I didn’t have any toys except at some point I got a large blue truck for which I was cutting wood. I cut my leg with the ax, it was heavy for my 5-yer old hands. Grandmother came, said her words and bleeding stopped and in a few days it was healed. And later I got a large doll, and my sister had a similar one. That was it. I didn’t like playing, but sewing dresses for our dolls and making furniture for them.
I also drew an ABC for my sister, all letters and words with big illustrations. I turned to drawing often. I’ve never had a drawing lesson or similar, I just could draw even though nobody thought anything of that. These were such times, and nobody cared about a kid who can draw. It wasn’t assumed as anything special. Nobody in my family can draw or paint, but my mom had exclusive taste, she could create any outfit from design to execution, my taste and lots of skills come from her.
Drawing was how I spent time. Later, I did a drawing a day and read a book a day, up until I went off to university at 17 to the capital city. Studying was extra easy for me because of the photographic memory which I developed by drawing. So, it came absolutely naturally to me. I believe every person who can manage handwriting can draw, but it takes good observational skills, as well as ability to notice things like shadows, contrast, values and shapes. Certainly, if I can draw effortlessly, I also don’t assume it is something special.
Yes, lots of technical things are very expensive. I manage whatever I can without equipment, but who knows how it goes on.
We don’t celebrate Father’s Day, it’s too sad.
Have a good one!
Such different times.
We’re spoiled. In so many ways.. we’re spoiled and we don’t know enough to realize it. It’s easy to complain about something you’ve never had to do without or over come.
My gran instilled in us a respect for our elders, our history, and taught us to sew/cook/run a farm and family. She’s big on a strong work ethic, feels that idle hands are best kept busy, and that it’s your responsibility as a person to better yourself.
She doesn’t understand kids on cellphones who don’t go outside, technology that does what you can do for yourself.. and I guess it rubbed off because I don’t either.
You have such a rich and compelling life story. I can’t imagine the difficulties, and joys, that you’ve experienced getting where you are today. Wow. But I think life takes all the pain and suffering and turns it into good.. something that makes it all worth it.
I apologize. I hope you’re weekend is beautiful, regardless. 🌹
Be well!
They certainly were different times, and extremely different conditions. I’d say I had a very happy childhood, not shadowed by the modern day issues. You cannot miss what you don’t know about and you do not long for what there isn’t. I had all the nature in all its abundance and so I learned what might seem impossible here and today. Growing up and living for the most part consuming 100% clean and natural self-grown food means I never had any smallest issues with weight, I’m still the same size what I was at 21. Physical work also takes care about one’s integrity and wholesomeness, therefore, you never suffer any harsh mental issues. Nothing is only bad or good, and I view my childhood and years of youth as a very enriching and amazing time.
I was also very privileged to have both parents until I was 50 and mom until I was 60. Our family is always the most supportive thing there can be. I adored both my parents, love my sister and obviously my daughter and grandchildren who are adults now.
Your grandmother is most likely a very smart woman. Strong work ethic is what we are missing nowadays a lot. I feel the lack of it every time I need somebody’s help. Unfortunately, there is a lot to wish for in the work ethic area.
The generations which have grown up with phone and laptop in their bed will suffer from their own issues. We can see already the bent postures, the texting neck, permanent or intermittent blindness, multiple eyesight issues at a very young age, I’m not even going into mental issues, wrist and hand problems. There are many. I am still doing medical work, but that is mostly working on unique clinical trial synopses, medical books or scientific articles which require top knowledge in the field. I have given up all the work which can be either machine translated or translated with CATs: computer aided tools. That is a waste of my intelligence.
I agree, my life turned out to be very interesting. Never had time to feel bored. I never thought I’d be living in Canada, not before I actually landed here and it all happened.
Have a good weekend and nice Father’s day if you celebrate!
That sounds lovely. I’m sure it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies.. but being surrounded by nature is such a gift, one that’s taken for granted far too often.
And I wish it weren’t true but most kids these days will never know a world or life without technology or social media. We’ll never be able to return to a time before life became about machines.
It’s amazing what simply eating healthier, more natural foods, can do for your body and mental health. We lived overseas for a handful of years and the fresh produce at the markets was one of my favorite things. We do so much to our food here that even the taste is of much poorer quality. How is that good for anyone? I foresee personal and private gardens becoming more essential in the next few years.
And I completely agree.. family is very important. No matter what point of life you’re in, your family helped shape who you are, the good and bad.
There will be no cure for the growing issues tech causes, chances are that things will get progressively worse as the modern age drowns us in talking washing machines and refrigerators that order your groceries. It’s all too much.
I can only imagine how many cases you see where the health of a person is declining from the simple lack of detaching themselves from their phones or computers.
Life is more interesting when you live it.. and it sounds like you really lived, like you still are. We should all try to follow that example a little more.
And I’m a daddy’s girl, through and through, so thank you! I hope you get some of this rain and you’re staying safe! 🌷
Wonderful comment Sheri!
Definitely, life is so much more when you experience it in the reality, not virtually.
I have traits from both parents, we sort of loved each other and both parents contributed a lot to how I am seeing the world which is in realistic, but optimistic way by always sticking to my principles, values and belief, no matter what. That accounts for unshakable integrity.
I know, I keep thinking of that there’s no need to improve nature, everything is already perfectly balanced in all natural things. The worst is that we know we can, and we somehow believe, we must.
The pre-internet and pre-technology times are gone forever, unless something happened to all satellites or power generation globally.
It’s still up to us to maintain the human features stronger than the ones of machines. We have a choice, every single moment we make it. Everybody can live quite well by using devices only when absolutely necessary. I know that won’t happen with the newer generation. Too bad.
It’s Latvian Midsummer and I just posted an article reviewing our famous Song and Dance Festival and how long gone past and ancient traditions have shaped the modern Latvian, maybe read if interested, https://inesepogalifeschool.com/2021/06/23/june-the-midsummer-thoughts/
All the best to you Sheri!
It’s interesting, isn’t it.. how much we take from our parents? The good and bad, so much of who we are is shaped by those who raised us. It’s taken me a long time to get to a place where I can accept how much of what I believe stems from what I took away from the older generations around me. Now, I can appreciate those triats as the gift they are, but it wasn’t always the case.
And I don’t forsee an end to the technological ago for quite some time but, it would be foolish to believe it will last forever, history should be warning enough. All kingdoms fall eventually.
I’ll check it out, that sounds really fascinating, just not tonight.. my eyes are blurring from this screen and I really should just get some rest.
And to you! I always enjoy reading your comments, Inese, thank you for taking the time!
From dad, girl gets all confidence and the skills to handle tough situations, from mom they learn life skills and self-awareness. I cannot imagine anything bad when I think about my family, we were and still are very supportive no matter what. I’m the oldest one now, could soon become a great grandmother if the oldest grandson decides to start his family. I was very young grandmother and my grandsons call me by name usually, not grandma, or granny, etc. Well, I was totally fitting in when my daughter had some event or party, including recent years. Which is fun. That’s why I loved working in high schools and colleges in Riga, Latvia, that work makes one feel young. I miss it here. My students were usually close to my own age and that was even more fun, but also difficult. We had there large high schools with more than thousand students, classes were big, too, 30-35. I sometimes gave lectures to 60 students from 2 groups.
Seeing kids here and judging by what I have observed during art classes, I don’t think I’d love to return to a regular school. Not at this age, anyway.
The interesting thing is I always emphasized I don’t want to work as a teacher, yet, ended up being a teacher for decades. When I go to Latvia and accidentally meet some student who has probably grandchildren, too, they still say, teacher. Feels very good, I stay in tough with many.
It might happen as in sci-fi movies that AI and artificial creatures take over. When you look at the last half century, you cannot miss, but notice that technological development was extremely fast and advances at a fast pace still. It’s branched off in so many fields that, no, one person cannot any longer manage more than just a small sector of it, that’s apart from daily basic tasks. Now, humans have not become any better or have they? Even at a hospital visit, I asked the doctor about some weird symptoms and what they do? They google these symptoms. While it’s good to get answers with a click, that doesn’t mean it’s something the human has figured out.
In diagnostic area, we should use AI. It is hilarious how absurdly wrong some doctors can be even with all huge help of tests and devices.
Technology has outrun humans big time, and we are dependent on it. Not me in particular that much, but many are. That’s just half a century. That’s why I insist everybody exercises their brain daily using whatever challenging task they prefer.
Good night and I hope to soon publish in art blog, too! It’s been a pleasure!
That’s how family should be. Close. Supportive. We have a large family but, after my grandfather passed, everyone mostly scattered. And it’s difficult getting together, life gets busy, and it’s just not practical or affordable for everyone. But it’s knowing that if you need them, that if you call, your family will be there.
It doesn’t surprise me that you teach, you have such an incredible eye for detail, and obviously a great amount of patience. But teachers these days are already so restricted by what they’re allowed to do.. it’s ridiculous and detrimental to the kids interest in learning. It’s so wonderful that you were able to make such a mark on your students. Teachers don’t get enough appreciation for what they’re accomplishing. Knowledge is such a priceless gift.
Forms of artificial intelligence are already taking over. Your phone is learning from you, your likes and interests, where you like to go. And it uses that information to Learn how to best suit your needs. It’s creepy.
I do believe that technology has it’s perks.. but it will always come with risks.
Good night, Inese, I’m curious to see what you come up with next! I hope you’re well!
I completely agree, family should be like that, and, thankfully, mine is. Good to hear you are also close while living apart and quite far away.
That’s exactly why I wouldn’t teach now, of course, I teach at my art classes, but I am the boss here. Oh, these were different times. I wasn’t a class teacher for any specific class mostly, but I taught German to senior students. I think they loved my honesty. Back then, in Europe, we could afford to be honest and tell the truth without being afraid to offend somebody. I personally find it really bad how people are so extremely sensitive to anything, although, most often it’s not meant to be perceived like that.
Phone is definitely a spy. Also, our face would be recognized everywhere if necessary. I do use phone very little, actually, just when absolutely cannot avoid. While I have the biggest size which was available, it’s still pathetically small for my eyes. I noticed photos look very good on the phone, and when you download them to computer, they don’t look good at all frequently.
In my mind, moderate use would be fine, but the addictive nature of devices is turning people into attachments to devices, not good at all.
Well, when I go somewhere or walk or work, I do not take phone with me. About once a day or two days I spend about 5-10 minutes checking out things, but that’s it.
I’m working on the next post, it usually takes a while because I need to first paint these things and take pics, etc.
Have a good weekend!
We are blessed! Many families don’t get along when they live together.. much less at great distances. It’s too easy to fall out of touch.
And *everything has become too controversial. There will always be someong who’s offended or doesn’t agree, what I don’t understand is how they expect others to take responsibility for it.
Not every student thinks or learns the same way, and expecting them to all succeed by the same standard is a failure of the system, not the teacher. Teachers need to be able to teach in a way that their students can respond to.
My phone is ridiculous. I want to dislike it completely.. they’re blatantly obvious about listening to you. Sending ads, emails, and offers about topics or products you’ve discussed in the privacy of your own home. It can make a person paranoid.
But.. I’m a hypocrite. I spend way more time on electronics than I really should, and it pains me to abmit that I wouldn’t know what to do without the convenience.
Any way! I can’t wait to see your next post! Thank you so much and I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend yourself!
Back then, teachers were highly respected. I’ve read and understood that teacher must put big efforts in making every class fun which I completely disagree with.
Even for an art class, I mean live art class, one must be ready to work. painting involves physical aspect, too, it can be difficult and tiring to paint some areas. Secondly, If one wants to learn they must be ready to do that. Seriously learn or otherwise there just isn’t anything. You can see that from paintings online nowadays: they’re all the same style, non-skilled, rather attempts than ready paintings. That’s result of the fun aspect. We cannot have it both ways: know nothing and do something or learn and know a lot and take a long path towards the result.
I just published the new post, and it involves only one recent painting: https://inesepogagallery.com/2021/07/01/summer-garden-for-soul/
Thanks!
Teachers were respected because respect was valued. It isn’t anymore.
And I think learning should be taken seriously, but I also believe that as individuals, we learn at different speeds and on different levels. Schools don’t account for that.
And if you only teach someone one way to do things, that’s the only way they’ll know..
Thank you, I’ll be sure to check it out!
Take care!
Schools 20 and 30 years ago, and in the soviet Latvia were very different from what you have experienced. Yet, education was good and I kept that line; to always make people think and look for their own solutions. Which is extra rare today, in the tutorial world. That’s straight the opposite of think on your own and be unique. It’s mostly replication and rechewing what somebody else has gone through. The globalization is causing everybody to try being like everybody else, otherwise there would be no influencers and million likes under something which isn’t really anything.
I was fortunate in a way.. I was homeschooled and we mostly taught ourselves. I would consume everything I was interested in and a lot that I wasn’t. Despite how chaotic that may sound, we were great students, and made good grades. My husband talks about attending school and it sounds foreign to me. I can’t really imagine being forced to conform to their idea of’curriculum.
It’s a shame, isn’t it? We’re not meant to be the same, we’re each unique for a reason, we should embrace our differences.
I hope you’re doing well!
Curriculums at general schools will never suit everybody, but I suppose it is sufficient enough when some certain standards are met. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with homeschooling.
I always prefer learning on my own. I did attend all schools and university, and I loved all schools also, but most learning I did on my own. We didn’t have internet back then, so you just learn and develop high degree of decision making, analytic ability, very strong confidence, you have no fear to make an error, and you can figure out anything. I mean, anything, there are no limitations. I feel sorry for people who choose to live by tutorials. It takes away personal style and uniqueness.
Happy 4th of July!
It just seems like the kids who need the extra help aren’t getting it because the schools are more interested in ‘grooming’ students that are already excelling.
I agree with that. I enjoyed being a student while I was, made good grades and all, but I flourished on my own. Giving a child the freedom to choose what they’re learning, and how, it’s a great motivator.
And I would agree but.. my husband taught himself how to take apart our car engine from a youtube tutorial. He’s quite intelligent but.. that’s how he learns best. (He did put it back together correctly, too)
You just have to Want to learn.
Thank you! Hopefully it was a lovely day for you, too!
It’s yes and no. If we only do what we like and never what we have to, we cannot get far.
Nowadays problem is that everybody has a heightened sense of entitlement, but when it comes to responsibility, it’s not the case.
The sloppy, negligent, inattentive adults who throw their clothes on the floor and garbage on the street, who ignore somebody else’s needs by always putting themselves first, come from their childhood where they never had to clean up after themselves.
I’ve taught everything myself from English to sewing, from drawing and painting to design concepts and computer literacy. It’s possible, might take longer, but it really isn’t difficult. I wrote about 2 different approaches on my other blog: one is when you always need an instruction and tutorial and the other: you just experiment and learn from what went wrong.
I don’t want to close the comments on this post, but let’s just continue on life school blog which reviews aspects like learning and life skills, or art blog about art related things. This has gotten very far from style and technique in art. LOL, way off the subject. Thanks for your input!
Have a good day and week!
If only enough people agreed with this style of thinking, it might make a significant difference, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
And my apologies, you’re so right, this isn’t on topic at all! You’re welcome!
Thanks so much for chatting with me, I your drawing is going well, and take care!
Thanks Sheri!
Any time!
I love these. The textured poppies are a fav!
Thank you very much Caroline!
I noticed that every person had heir personal favorite.
They all look quite unique, but picture taking is very difficult because light reflects from any higher surface and that disturbs the balance to some extent. Anyway, I’m glad I finally posted them after 14 years and after ten years (the pink flowers).
I use this same technique for extra large paintings, too. It works really well with trees.
Have a good day!
I always say there is a piece of art for everyone! It is difficult to photograph paintings. I have been for years and I still have to do a number of retakes because of light, texture etc. It is nice that you posted your older art, some artists won’t, but it is good to see how an artist evolves etc. Have a lovely day yourself.
Thanks Caroline!
At the moment, I don’t even have a camera, so it’s not good. Who knows, maybe I can get it after a while, but, unfortunately, prices have gone up so fast for everything. We will be starting to reopen just this Friday, Pandemic has really depleted any income, although, it wasn’t very substantial even before pandemic, covered paints maybe.
I used to have a good camera around 2010 and it was still tricky to get the right pictures. My point is that no camera can ever capture what is on the actual painting.
In my opinion, the works from previous decade are fine since I didn’t start out in 2007, I simply relocated from Europe to Canada, but I couldn’t take any art with me, or for that matter, practically nothing. It makes no sense to post first attempts which in my case would be from 40 years ago or even more. I don’t have any of these drawings and paintings any longer due to moving around the globe. However, mom had saved a few of my early drawings, and they are very good even if I look at them strictly critically. Well, I was probably born with the ability to draw and paint since I did it right away and never attended any classes. That was 60 of the last century in soviet Latvia, no, there wasn’t anything like it’s in Canada or the US.
So, I started out as an unknown artist here in Canada in 2007, although, I had done numerous paintings, sales and commissions in Europe, usually large scale. That’s just the thing about relocating so far and at quite old age.
Thank you very much for your comment! It’s always nice to share and exchange thoughts with fellow artists.
I wish you the best in your endeavours. 🎈🎈🎈
Thanks very much! Doing whatever I can.
You are an amazing artist, Inese. The Old Tree and the Pink blooms are my especial favourites. Wonderful!
Thank you very much! I suppose there’s nothing wrong with art from a decade ago or so. I cannot even understand why I never posted it before.
I love how everybody has their favorites. The strong textures are certainly a good feature, just abnormally difficult to get on photo. Colors change in different light settings and in different spaces.
Have a good evening!
Your technique is very original. Very good talent 😍😍😍
Thanks! These are from some 10 or more years ago, just as I went through inventory, took extra pictures and shared for the first time. I started textured acrylics some time around 2007.